My favourite pre-dinner cocktail has to be a French 75. I love the lemon flavours, the bitterness of the gin and of course, bubbles. Who can resist? Around the holidays I up the ante with infusing the drink with cranberry simple syrup for a festive spin on things. I almost always offer the simple syrup and gin at our annual holiday party so I can serve these Cranberry 75s on repeat for our guests.

Christmas Day Dinner is possibly my favourite meal to plan and make every year. I love the elegant and grand feeling of it. The fact that family is all around and we’ll be up late chatting, eating, and sipping wine … perhaps a bit too much of all of those. 😉 Recent years and this year will have me serving a big roast on Christmas Day. I love turkey and ham, but I also make them frequently enough during the year that we don’t feel as though we’re missing out. A great way to create a show stopping centre piece for the main protein is to leave the bone-in. This Holiday Rosemary Garlic Pork Roast will wow guests with its crispy exterior and succulent interior. And you’ll be feeling grand from as little hands on work as possible!

Cookie Week is in full swing around here and I’m very excited to share this Eggnog Madeleines recipe! I kicked off this week with these Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Cookies that were part of a real life cookie exchange aka holiday cookie party. And there ain’t no party like a cookie party. Today is all about collaborating with my fellow Canadian food bloggers with another #CDNFoodCreatives collaboration on Holiday Cookies. Big thanks to Laura from Bluenose Baker, Kacey from The Cookie Writer, and Evelyne from CulturEatz for hosting! There are 19 other drool-worthy holiday cookie recipes below. Hopefully we’ve hit you right in time for your holiday cookie exchanges!

It’s holiday baking season and what’s Christmas without cookies? Good old St. Nick would probably have a thing or two to say about no cookies come Christmas Eve. I have a whole week stuffed with amazing cookies planned and this is a worthy start. I was beyond excited when my friend Kate from The Wood and Spoon asked if I wanted to participate in a real life cookie exchange with other food bloggers. I was a huge yes and immediately started scheming on what kind of cookies I would send out. I wanted to ship my fellow food blogger Teri at No Crumbs Left something festive, but outrageously delicious. I hope she thinks these Salted Chocolate Dipped Toffee Shortbread Cookies live up to expectations! Big thanks to Rebecca from Displaced Housewife for hosting this cookie party!

* This post is sponsored by SummerFresh as part of the #FreshAPPYS campaign. My Kitchen Love has been compensated monetarily and with product, although all opinions remain my own.

If there’s one thing I love putting together when we have people over for a party it’s a charcuterie board. Putting personal touches on the board, offering bites for all taste preferences, and making it look beautiful takes a few small extra touches but goes a long way. Whether it’s my regular cookbook club or a one off dinner party, charcuterie boards are there to offer something to everyone. This holiday season I’m looking forward to sharing a fresh take on appetizers and a charcuterie board with homemade sumac pita chips.

SummerFresh offers fresh, real and simple ingredients and everyday gourmet products. I took 3 of the products from the SummerFresh line to complete my charcuterie board: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Bruschetta, and Spinach Dip. I went with fan favourites of hummus and spinach dip, but put a small personal touch on all 3 dips by grating some lemon zest on top. The garnish makes the dips pop and provides a unifying flavour to link the board together. SummerFresh makes holiday entertaining easy with healthy dips and tips in their Entertaining Guide.

I have 5 easy tips that I keep in mind for building a charcuterie board:

Bright, fresh produce that people actually eat: How many times are cauliflower and broccoli left behind on a veggie platter? Keep it simple with carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery, and radish. Unusual options could be blanched asparagus spears or pickled green beans

Bread, crackers or pita: they’re all vehicles for the stars, however I love pita chips (like the ones below!), breadsticks, baguette, and grain/seed crackers that don’t overtake the rest of the board.

Meat: a few options of very thinly sliced meats, such as prosciutto or salami.

Dips or spreads: offer 1-3 dips or spreads such as hummus bruschetta.

These pita chips are so crazy addictive I’m lucky there was any left to photograph! I love the hint of garlic and the lemony sumac spice. Sumac has a festive pop of red and is full of bright lemon flavour. It’s made from a berry that is dried and ground up to form a powdered spice.

Preheat oven to 400* F and line 2-3 baking sheet with non-stick paper.

In a small bowl mix together oil and garlic. Brush over pita and then season lightly with salt.Cut into 6-8 triangles per pita.

Place pita triangles on lined baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just starting to brown. (Pita chips will continue to crisp while cooling). Immediately sprinkle with sumac (grab a pinch sumac between thumb and finger and hold 6-8" away from pita pieces to sprinkle to ensure more equal coverage).

Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

* Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice available at Middle Eastern grocers and can be found in the spice aisle at some major grocery stores.

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that taste the best – with minimal intervention. Take this simple bite size dish; Manchego Cheese, Serrano Ham, and Castelvetrano Olives as the simplest of recipes with 3 ingredients and ready in about 10 minutes. And what better time of year to let simple ingredients shine than over the holidays? Everyone has a hundred other tasks to complete around the holidays; why add another time-consuming one?

This post is in memory of my brother. He passed away very suddenly and tragically in 2008 when he was 28 years old and this week he would have turned 37. This Scottish Mince and Tatties (or just plain “Mince” as we called it) was his favourite meal that our Nana would make him. I don’t want to go on for very long about this dark period in my life. I don’t like talking about it, I don’t like writing about it. What I much prefer to do is remember the good times with my brother and I know that he would have always wanted me to choose hope, love, and happiness above of sitting in the depths of grief.

This isn’t the post I was hoping to make. I’m writing this last night and as I write this, tomorrow is my late brother’s birthday. I had hoped to post his favourite Scottish dish that our Nana would make us. Since this week was a total fail (stolen wallet, crazy elections, and one of my girls needing stitches) I couldn’t get life sorted enough to get that recipe documented the way I wanted to. Instead, I’m sharing this epic slow cooker recipe – Korean Pulled Pork Sliders that I’ve had on the back burner. The best fall back possible. Big bold flavours with the perfect amount of heat so the whole family can enjoy it. Hopefully my Scottish recipes will make an appearance soon!…

I’ve been told many times that I’m an old soul. I’m unsure if this is something that is just me; not learned or anything, just always there, or if I’ve slowly acquired a taste for things that perhaps make me appear older than I am. Take cocktails for example, gin which most people associate with an older demographic is by far my favourite. And this Gimlet throwback to the 1920’s is definitely a new favourite. The fact that it’s colours are perfect for the holidays is a coincidence that makes me happy.

This recipe came up because my cousin asked me if I had recipe for polenta fries in my archives. I didn’t and since I’m a big polenta fan, I went about trying to find an easy and delicious way to make polenta fries. I was aiming for crispy exterior, soft polenta-like texture on the interior, and a great dipping sauce as a companion. My previous attempts in years past have gone terribly wrong from taking forever to make, to not obtaining the right texture. These Herb and Feta Polenta Fries are the perfect side dish for any supper, great for game day, and ideal for any potlucks.

Samantha

Hi! Thanks for coming by! I'm a mom with 3 young daughters, a wife, and a foodie trying to keep my head above water with simple, delicious, and nutritious food. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. I'd love to hear from you! Read More…

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